Breckenridge residents and visitors will soon have a chance to speak up about one of the town’s most irksome issues: parking.

The town will host two public forums about the 900-space parking garage proposed to be built at the site of the F-Lot to ensure the process, plan and eventual final design reflect community involvement and values.

“Parking has been one of our most critical challenges for as long as I can remember, and we, along with the community, need to solve it now,” said Mayor John Warner. “The various parking studies, the results of the Parking and Transit Task Force and other community outreach efforts make it clear that we need to stop looking at the issue and take action. We don’t want to be talking about this in three years; we want to be parking there in three years.”

The first community forum will be Monday, July 6, at 5:30 p.m. followed by another on Tuesday, July 7, at 2 p.m. Both meetings will be in the Hopefull/Discovery room of the Breckenridge Grand Vacations Community Center at 103 South Harris St.

The garage will add 600 spaces to the existing 300 in the F-Lot in an attempt to alleviate parking problems and high-season traffic congestion. Drivers looking for parking create gridlock in town, and officials reported that Breckenridge experienced at least 22 days of gridlock in the 2014-15 season.

“The congestion is not only frustrating and wearisome but it is also bad for the environment,” said Councilman/Mayor Pro Tem Mark Burke.

Town council members were unanimously in support of moving the project forward to address the issue’s negative economic and environmental impacts.

“The community identified a critical problem, and this council has responded with a plan that was built with task-force input and is ready for citizen feedback,” Councilwoman Wendy Wolfe said.

The garage will provide expanded employee parking options and have the same management procedures, such as free summer parking and the “Free After 3” program, now in place for F-Lot.

The town has yet to begin the design process with an architect, but council members said the garage must maintain the town’s character and charm. The garage could include two below-ground levels to reduce the structure’s height as well as a new pedestrian bridge and a new roundabout at Village Road and Park Avenue.

Council members stressed the success of the project hinges on finding sustainable revenue not only to pay for the initial construction but also ongoing maintenance and an enhanced transit system. Warner said the town is looking at various finance options.